AU One Shot Galore
by Geekmaster5000
Summary: Do you like AU Oneshots? Then this is for you! A collection of AU's all at your dispense and enjoyment. Ch 1. "Richard Castle was bored..." Superhero AU


**Hey guys, Geekmaster5000 here! So this is a new little thing that I'm making. I found an AU list on Tumblr. There's about 50 different prompts, so I decided apply those prompts to Castle! Hope you all like them!**

Richard Castle was bored.

You would think that being the richest man in Gotham would imply that you'd always have a source of entertainment…

Sadly, that was not the case.

He tried to do anything to keep himself from dying of boredom, including twiddling his thumbs and secretly playing the new Angry Birds update.

Why the hell were business meetings so long?

Finally, after failing yet again at level 120, he sighed, "Guys! As much as I love my business, can't we keep these meetings shorter?"

Before the meeting leader could respond, there was a knock at the door. Alfred, his butler, entered the room. "Master Castle," he said, his back ramrod straight and his shoulders relax, "May I take up a moment of your time?" Despite Alfred's seemingly calm exterior, a look of urgency glinted in his eyes.

Something was wrong.

Rick smiled up at him, "Of course Alfred," he looked over to his fellow business men, "Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me." He gracefully stood up, and strode over to Alfred who was holding the door open. They both stepped out, and waited until they could hear the meeting continue. "Alfred, what's the matter?"

His butler's face grew serious, "I'm afraid I have some bad news Master Castle."

Rick's anxiety kicked up a notch, "What is it?"

"I'm afraid something's happened to Ms. Beckett."

"Kate? What happened?"

"She was suppose to appear in court today, and didn't appear. When two officers went to collect her at her residence, they couldn't find her. They checked her office, the whole office building, and anywhere she would be. She's disappeared."

"Damnit!" Rick scowled, "Alfred we have to find her!"

Rick swiftly walked down the end of the hall and into the elevator. After he impatiently rode it all the way down to the parking garage, he climbed into his red ferrari. He buckled, then slammed on the gas, and sped his way through the streets of Gotham.

After too long of a ride, he finally pulled up to the storage lots. He jumped out of his car, and ran to the grafittied red storage unit. He unlocked it, and entered his batcave.

When he reached the huge personal tech center, he plopped down in his seat.

"Alfred, what do you propose we do?"

Alfred sighed, "Unfortunately, Master Castle, the only thing I can think of is an invasion is privacy for all citizens and you've already destroyed the equipment that would've been required to do it."

Rick raised an eyebrow, "And that option would be…?"

"The radio hacking device that you used a while back sir."

Rick raised his eyebrows, "Ah, an excellent suggestion, Alfred. Fortunately for us, I still have equipment for that. Granted it's on a smaller scale, but it will do." Rick punched a code into a security device, and a secret wall panel opened to reveal several weapons and gadgets. He pulled out a small remote type device, and closed the panel again, "I call this the Cryptographic Sequencer. It will pick up any and all radio frequencies in the area. You've just gotta find the right tune."

Alfred raised his eyebrows, "And you hope to overhear something that will pertain to the disappearance of Ms. Beckett?"

Rick smiled, "Has anyone told you that you're a brilliant man, Alfred?"

"You just did, sir."

Rick laughed while he walked over to the glass case that contained his batsuit. He punched in another code, and the glass slid open. He quickly put on the suit, and locked the glass again, "Alfred, I want you to go on the batcomputer, and search all of Gotham for any mention of the name Kate or Beckett," he said in a deep voice, "I'll go to the crime scene and search for any clues as to where she could be."

"Yes, Master Castle. I will report back to you when I'm finished."

Rick nodded, and headed off to the batmobile.

After a grueling ride through Gotham, he finally reached Kate's apartment. He stealthily slipped inside without anyone noticing.

He looked around for a while, not seeing anything of importance until his cape accidentally swept some mail off the table. Rick bent over to pick it back up when he noticed something sticking out from underneath an envelope. He moved the envelope, and was immediately stricken with a wave of fear and nausea.

Sitting there, practically mocking him, was a joker card with a big X on it from a sharpie.

Joker had Kate…

Rick stood up quickly, then spoke into his earpiece, "Alfred, I know where Kate is."

His earpiece crackled, "I assume that she's hasn't taken a surprise vacation by the tone of your voice."

Rick chuckled darkly, "If only. Joker has her," he sighed, "he never rests, does he?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. What would you like me to do?"

"I need you to scan his usual hideouts with the Cryptographic Sequencer, see if any of his goons are chatting it up right now."

"Will do, sir. I'll only be a minute."

Rick waited impatiently for Alfred to come back on. Just when he was about ready to yell into the microphone, he spoke again, "here's something. Patching into your suit now."

Rick waited a moment until he heared two rough voices, "Yeah, I'm freezing my ass off too. Lucky for us though, The Jokers got that whore of a DA in the old coal factory. Bitch won't last a second with him."

"Alfred, I've heard enough," Rick gritted out.

"Sorry, sir. I will await for your next command."

"Thank you, Alfred." Rick swiftly left Kate's apartment, and started the batmobile again.

A half hour later, Rick was perched on top of a building across from the old factory. He saw a few guys outside the complex, holding baseball bats and leisurely talking. It was well past sunset, so everything around him was dark. He took out a pair of thermal binoculars, and looked around. Finally, he spotted someone tied to a chair.

Rick's heart soared. She's alive!

He scanned around some more and only saw a few guards near her.

It was clearly a trap, but he couldn't care; Kate was in there, alive and breathing. Not dead.

Rick quickly spotted a little alcove about the huge group by the door, and glided over them. After he made sure that no one heard him, he turned and looked at the two guards by the door.

He quickly formed a plan. Sneak up to the chair, get Kate, and silently escape. Easy peasy.

Rick pulled out his line launcher, and shot it across the open yard to attach to the factory. He tightly wrapped it around the neck of the gargoyle that was next to him, and swung himself up onto the rope. He quickly walked across it until he was perched just over Kate. He dropped down, and used his cape to break his fall.

"Kate, it's okay it's just me. It's batman." He quickly started to untie her from the chair, and when he was finished he started to wrap his hands around her waist.

That was an awfully skinny waist…

He heard a manic laugh, then all he saw was darkness.

When he came to, all he was aware of was the pounding in his head. He was tied to a wooden chair, with his hands behind his back. He was still in his batsuit, mask and all.

When he looked in front of him, he was greeted with what was quite possibly the worst sight he'd ever seen since he watched his parents be murdered.

Kate was tied with her hands behind her back. She had a cloth wrapped around her mouth that was tied in the back. She was on her knees in front of an empty metal bin. She had a cut on the left side of her forehead, and dried blood smeared on her cheek. Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail behind her head.

"Kate, are you okay?" Rick was surprised that he could still use his deep voice.

She nodded slightly.

"Alrighty you love birds! Let's get this show on the road!"

A bright spot light suddenly was turned on behind him, and was focused on Kate. She slammed her eyes shut, and groaned.

Then, a figure stepped out from the shadows, and Rick's hands clenched in anger.

Joker walked over to them with his hands in his pocket; a prime example of relaxation and leisure.

What he wouldn't do to pound his face in…

"Ahh… Nice to see you're awake Bats!" he chirped.

He walked over to Kate, and crouched down in front of her.

"Hey, Katie! You miss me?"

Her upper lip twitched in disgust, and she grumbled something that was muffled through the cloth.

"Huh? What's that? You're gonna have to speak up!"

He moved the cloth from her mouth, and slipped it over her eyes.

"Fuck you," she spat out at him. Her voice was hoarse, and cracked half way through her words.

Joker jumped up, and waved his hands gleefully, "Ooo feisty! I like it!" He turned to Rick, "Looks like you've snatched a good one Bats!" He snapped his fingers, and two men brought over two huge buckets. They dumped water into the huge bin in front of Kate. Kate jumped a little at the sound, but remained silent.

While the two guys continued to fill up the huge bin, Joker paced back and forth in front of them. He seemed to be contemplating something. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

Suddenly, one of guys dropped the pail, and it made a loud bang when it connected on the concrete floor.

"Guys! Come on! It's a simple task!" Joker yelled.

When Joker turned his back to discipline the man, Rick engaged the extended claw from his glove. He started to saw his way out of his wrist confinements. Just as the rope broke, Joker turned around and Rick stealthily wrapped the rope around his knuckles.

"Jeez, if you're gonna do something right, you gotta do it yourself, am I right?" Joker sighed. "Anyway, what was I gonna say before I was oh so rudely interrupted? Ah yes! As you can see, our dearest Katie is kneeled in front of a bin of water."

The bigger of the two guys came over with a huge bag of ice in his arms. The other guy cut a slit in the front, and they started to pour the ice into the water. They repeated the process three more times until the bin was filled with ice cold water. The big brute walked behind Kate and roughly grabbed her ponytail as he wrapped a huge arm around her waist, making it so she couldn't escape. Joker walked up in front of them, and crouched down

"Now, Katie, I'm going to ask you one and only that one question. Answer it correctly? And you get to leave here. Answer it wrong?" He snapped his fingers and the guy shoved her head forward until the tip of her nose just barely touched the surface of the water. She let out a cry of surprised and started to struggle against the guy.

Rick clenched his fists in anger. He could easily knock out Joker now that he was free, but he suspected that the brutish guy would slit Kate's throat before he could get to her. All he could do is wait for the perfect opportunity to knock them all down.

The big guy pulled her back upright, yanking her so far back that the skin on her neck was pulled taunt, revealing the rippling muscles underneath.

"Ready to begin? Good," Joker stood up and started to pace in a circle around the two. "The question is: Who it the man behind the mask?" He paused for a moment and looked at her expectantly. "What? Nothing? Come on, Katie. I know you know who he is."

Kate gulped, but kept quiet and stared him down.

"Nothing? Not even a little peep? Fine then." Joker snapped his fingers, and the man pushed her head into the water.

Kate struggled against his head, choking on the ice cold water. Water splashed over the side of the tub and onto the cement floor causing little rivulets to run across the floor and to Rick's feet.

Rick lurched forward in his seat, but kept his hands secured together behind his back, despite his body screeching at him to help her.

After what felt like hours, the guy pulled her head back up. Kate gasped, her lungs sucking in as much air as she could. Her lungs burned from lack of air. Before she could clear her head from the ice induced fog, her head was shoved back in again, and again, and again. Every few dunks she would be asked the same question over and over.

Who is Batman?

Who is the Dark Knight?

Who? Who? WHO?

The voices kept getting louder every time until eventually she just drowned them out. It felt like a never ending torture. Eventually she lost track of time, only aware of the icy burn starting in her throat and spreading throughout her whole chest area. She almost didn't notice when she heard a sharp yell, and she was yanked out yet again. She was thrown to the ground carelessly, and her head smacked against the edge. Dots danced in her eyes, but she didn't feel any pain. Her face was so numb and her mind so foggy, she knew there would be no hope of escape just by herself.

When she was finally able to focus somewhat, she turned her attention to the scene. She only caught the end of what Rick was saying.

"...stop. I'll tell you. Just don't hurt her." His eyes flickered down to hers, and she tried to say protest and tell him he's an idiot but the words just wouldn't come out of her mouth.

"Oh, lookie here boys! The bat's finally cracked!" Joker did a little dance while he cackled, and Rick resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This guy was absolutely nuts.

"Wait a minute! I don't just want a name. A name is nothing, just words and spaces. A face, now there's something worthy! A face has… character. I want the joy of unveiling the man behind the mask. I want to see your face when I smash it in with a baseball bat." Joker grinned, "Yeah, that sounds good. A bat for the bat. How poetic…"

Kate groaned and tried to move, but her muscles were useless. She was going no where.

Joker approached Rick and crouched down in front of him, "Boys, this is a very emotional moment for me." He faked a sniffle, "Can you give me second alone?" The two thugs gave each other unsure looks, but hesitantly stepped out of the room. Joker kept his eyes locked with Rick's.

"Now that they're out of the way, let's finally end this, what do you say Bats?" Joker slowly reached his hands up, and grabbed the mask.

"This is my moment…" he softly sang as he grinned. Just as he started lifting the mask, Rick threw his hands up and clapped them on his ears. Joker stumbled back and Rick grabbed him by his neck and slammed his elbow on his head. Joker crumpled to the ground, and Rick placed his knee on his chest.

All Rick could see was red, the anger welling inside of him. He whirled his fist back and slammed it back onto his face. He repeated the process again and again until he felt a hand on his arm. He looked over and saw Kate holding his arm. She was laying on the ground and shivering. He looked from her to Joker, then slowly lowered his fist. He looked back over to her, and enveloped her into a hug.

Rick knew they were pressed for time; at any moment the two thugs could come back in, and the situation would be that much worse.

"Kate, we need to go," he whispered into her hair. "Can you get up?"

She groaned and slowly shook her head. He looked at the door, and heard footsteps approach. He cursed, and separated himself from Kate. She whimpered in pain, and then he saw her eyes roll into the back of her head. Rick had a flare of panic roll through him, and he quickly scooped her up into his arms. Her head lolled limply on his shoulder as he shifted her to one side. He quickly found his gadgets as he heard arguing outside.

"Barney, you stupid fucker! How could you forget the boss's special knife? You know what he'll do to us if it's not there! Run back and find it, you idiot!" Rick heard someone groan, then the sound of shoes slapping on pavement. Finally, silence.

Rick relaxed a little. They had a bit more time. He bent down and rested Kate against the wall while he quickly stashed all of his weapons away in his tool belt. He grabbed his grappling tool, then Kate, and launched themselves up towards the line that was still attached. He scuttled towards the little ledge that he was perched on earlier, and set Kate down. She moaned a little, and Rick gently shushed her. They couldn't get caught, not when they've made it this far.

It seemed that they escaped just in time, because a few seconds later the two men entered the room once again. They both had just finished closing the door, and were about to turn around when Rick struck. He glided over the men, and glide kicked them both to knock them down. After a few minutes of wrestling the two men, he finally managed to knock them both unconscious. He quickly handcuffed them together to a pole, then shot back up to Kate.

Kate was still freezing, her body wracked with tremors of cold. He didn't have a lot of time left. He had to get her some help. Fast.

He quickly sped off toward the Batmobile to save the woman he loves.

A few hours later, Rick found himself sitting on his couch with Kate curled next to him. She had several blankets wrapped around herself as she tried to rid herself of the cold that had soaked her to the bone. Her head rested on his shoulder as they watched a John Woo movie.

After a while of watching, Kate looked over at the man who had rescued her and was hit with a overwhelming sense of love for this amazing man. She tilted her head up and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Rick smiled and looked down at her, "What was that for?"

"Thank you. For being there," she croaked out. Her voice had only just come back a while ago due to her screaming earlier.

He turned his body so he was facing her, and hauled her into his lap. "Always, Kate. Always."

**Prompt: Superhero AU**


End file.
